Washington State Rep. Shea Visits Oregon Protesters

SPOKANE (AP) — Washington state Rep. Matt Shea recently visited an Oregon wildlife refuge that is occupied by armed protesters who want some federal lands turned over to local residents.

The Republican from the Spokane Valley visited with the protesters last weekend, then was in Olympia Monday for the start of the 2016 session.

The Spokesman-Review reported Tuesday that Shea was part of a group that went to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon. He went at his own expense.

Shea spokesman John Sattgast called it a "fact-finding session."

One of the protest leaders is Ammon Bundy, son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who was in an armed standoff with federal authorities in 2014 over grazing rights on federal land. Shea visited the Bundy ranch during that standoff.